FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:             Jim Winger
Nov. 25, 1996                      (301) 975-2764
                                   
                                   TN-6123

           NEW DIRECTORY OF U.S. STANDARDS ACTIVITIES

                         NOW AVAILABLE

     A new edition of the directory of Standards Activities of
Organizations in the United States (SP 806) has been published by
the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and
Technology. The 1996 edition summarizes the standards activities
of more than 700 organizations in the United States, including
approximately 80 federal agencies and 620 private-sector groups
that issue standards.

     The new directory, the seventh in a series started in 1941,
was prepared for the NIST Office of Standards Services, which
serves as the national focal point for information on domestic
and international standards and certification programs. The
largest section of the directory contains an alphabetical listing
of approximately 620 non-government organizations that develop
standards, contribute to the standardization process in
partnership with other organizations, or are sources of documents
and information. Each listing includes the type of organization,
the scope of its standards and standardization activities
(whether voluntary or mandatory), the availability of its
standards and its other conformity assessment activities.

     To prepare for the new directory, editor Robert B. Toth
invited more than 1,200 non-government organizations and 100
federal agencies to provide information. The responses indicate
that 19 non-government standards developers have prepared more
than 34,600 standards, accounting for more than 71 percent of
those developed in the private sector. In all, approximately 620
non-government organizations maintain an estimated 49,000
standards. Accordingly, these constitute about 53 percent of the
greater than 93,000 standards in the United States.

     Approximately 28 percent of the private-sector standards
were developed by scientific and professional societies, another
32 percent by trade associations, and the remaining 34 percent by
standards-developing organizations such as the American Society
for Testing and Materials (which has published approximately
9,900). The remaining 6 percent were published by informal
standards developers.

     Prominent among 19 major non-government standards developers
are the Aerospace Industries Association (3,000 standards),
American National Standards Institute (1,400), Association of


American Railroads (1,400), Association of Official Analytical
Chemists (2,100), Society of Automotive Engineers (4,550) and the
U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (5,000).

      This publication is vitally important at this time since
standards are playing a greater role in fostering domestic and
international trade," says OSS Director Belinda L. Collins. Both
the government and private sector depend heavily on standards and
conformity assessment procedures to ensure public health, safety,
protection of the environment and product quality."

     For example, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code which contains more than 12,000
pages and has been used worldwide is a compilation of safety and
performance requirements for power and heating boilers, nuclear
reactors and power plants, and pressure vessels. It contains
sections on materials and the rules of construction for nuclear
power plants.

     In addition to the major section on private-sector
organizations, the new directory contains entries for approxi
mately 80 federal agencies, departments and other organizational
components that develop standards. NIST reports that approxi
mately 44,000 standards have been developed by the federal
agencies, with more than 34,000 of these issued or prepared by
the Department of Defense. An additional 2,000 are standards and
specifications developed for federal procurement under the
General Services Administration.

     The directory also contains a section on sources for stand
ards and related information; a subject index; and listings that
cover organizational acronyms and initials, former names and
groups listed in the previous directory that are no longer in
volved with standards.

     Copies of the directory, Standards Activities of Organizat
ions in the United States (SP 806), are available from the
Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office,
Washington, D.C. 20402. Order by stock no. 003-003-03427-4.

     A non-regulatory agency of the Commerce Department's
Technology Administration, NIST promotes U.S. economic growth by
working with industry to develop and apply technology, measure
ments and standards.

                              -30-

News and general information on the National Institute of
Standards and Technology are available on the World Wide Web via
Internet at http://www.nist.gov.